thinkpad 390e and windows xp - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

bacon_masta · 05-27-2004, 04:40 PM

so, i'm back after an extended absence due to my firewall not letting me post on tfp, finally figured out a workaround, but that's not my issue. i procured an ibm thinkpad 390e yesterday from my girlfriend's room mate, and i was wondering if there was any way i'd be able to upgrade the notebook to windows xp professional. all of the documentation i've found has said no, but when i attempted to install xp on the computer, it just said i needed to download updated install files for xp before i could continue the installation. as there is only an onboard modem and i have yet to purchase a pcmcia ethernet card, i haven't tried to do this yet, and was wondering if i should just break out windows 98 se, or if it's worth the attempt to install xp. anyone got a thinkpad or some advice?

pentium II proc, not sure of clockspeed
64 megs of ram
2 gig hard disk
currently running win 98 se
no idea on the mobo
floppy disk drive and cd drive (warm-swappable combo in bay)

soopafreek · 05-27-2004, 09:27 PM

xp will run on a pentium II, but on 64MB of ram, you're asking for trouble. plus, even if you get XP on the 2 gig hard drive, its not enough to have any other programs (i.e. - Office or games), let alone all the wonderful patches and hotfixes you'll need to download.

leave 98 in. if it's working, leave it be. an outdate, albeit usable laptop is better than a modern, painfully slow laptop.

merkerguitars · 05-27-2004, 09:40 PM

upgrade to 128mb of ram and put on win 2k pro.....

soopafreek · 05-28-2004, 05:36 AM

your biggest limitation is that 2 gig drive...

if that were a 5 gig, then upgrade the OS. but if you're stuck with the 2 gig, you're stuck with win 98.

win 2k + sp4 + patches, i believe, take up more than 2 gig.

:-(

sailor · 05-28-2004, 10:40 AM

Yeah, the 2 gigs is gonna be killer, as is the RAM. You may be able to get 2k on there, but I dont know. If you up the RAM to 128, that is plenty enough for 2k, but again--the HDD space is gonna be the clincher.

Hey, this could be a perfect opportunity to throw a linux distro on there and give that a shot

bacon_masta · 05-29-2004, 10:23 AM

what linux distro would you recommend? i really liked mandrake and suze, but i'm not sure how either would work as far as compatibility. another thing i'm concerned about is, during the reformat, if i'm installing from a cd drive located in the module bay, when the hdd is cleared, will the module still work, or will the install fail and just leave me with an unusable machine?

05-27-2004, 04:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
bacon_masta Psycho Location: i live in the state of denial	thinkpad 390e and windows xp so, i'm back after an extended absence due to my firewall not letting me post on tfp, finally figured out a workaround, but that's not my issue. i procured an ibm thinkpad 390e yesterday from my girlfriend's room mate, and i was wondering if there was any way i'd be able to upgrade the notebook to windows xp professional. all of the documentation i've found has said no, but when i attempted to install xp on the computer, it just said i needed to download updated install files for xp before i could continue the installation. as there is only an onboard modem and i have yet to purchase a pcmcia ethernet card, i haven't tried to do this yet, and was wondering if i should just break out windows 98 se, or if it's worth the attempt to install xp. anyone got a thinkpad or some advice? pentium II proc, not sure of clockspeed 64 megs of ram 2 gig hard disk currently running win 98 se no idea on the mobo floppy disk drive and cd drive (warm-swappable combo in bay)

05-27-2004, 09:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
soopafreek Psycho Location: ask your mom	xp will run on a pentium II, but on 64MB of ram, you're asking for trouble. plus, even if you get XP on the 2 gig hard drive, its not enough to have any other programs (i.e. - Office or games), let alone all the wonderful patches and hotfixes you'll need to download. leave 98 in. if it's working, leave it be. an outdate, albeit usable laptop is better than a modern, painfully slow laptop. __________________ aaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!!

05-27-2004, 09:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
merkerguitars Buffering......... Location: Wisconsin...	upgrade to 128mb of ram and put on win 2k pro..... __________________ Donate now! Ask me How! Please use the search function it is your friend. Look at my mustang please feel free to comment! http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=26985

05-28-2004, 05:36 AM	#4 (permalink)
soopafreek Psycho Location: ask your mom	your biggest limitation is that 2 gig drive... if that were a 5 gig, then upgrade the OS. but if you're stuck with the 2 gig, you're stuck with win 98. win 2k + sp4 + patches, i believe, take up more than 2 gig. :-( __________________ aaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!!

05-28-2004, 10:40 AM	#5 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	Yeah, the 2 gigs is gonna be killer, as is the RAM. You may be able to get 2k on there, but I dont know. If you up the RAM to 128, that is plenty enough for 2k, but again--the HDD space is gonna be the clincher. Hey, this could be a perfect opportunity to throw a linux distro on there and give that a shot __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

05-29-2004, 10:23 AM	#6 (permalink)
bacon_masta Psycho Location: i live in the state of denial	what linux distro would you recommend? i really liked mandrake and suze, but i'm not sure how either would work as far as compatibility. another thing i'm concerned about is, during the reformat, if i'm installing from a cd drive located in the module bay, when the hdd is cleared, will the module still work, or will the install fail and just leave me with an unusable machine?